Army court sentences four men to death for attacking Muto hardware in Masaka

The General Court Martial in Makindye has sentenced to death four men convicted of attacking, Muto hardware in Masaka in 2018.

On June 1 at Muto Hardware along Buddu street in the heart of Masaka town at around 8pm, unknown assailants stormed the place killing Moses Musinguzi, the security guard and  Shafik Kiggundu another employee before robbing Shs 435 million.

Later, seven people including Rtd Cpl Paul Kiwanuka,54, a retired UPDF soldier,Derrick Jumba,40,John Bosco Waliggo,43,Kizza Bukenya Matiya,Stephen Kayemba,Julius Tweheyo,30 and Gerevazio Kankaka 25 were arraigned before the army court and charged with two counts of murder and two for aggravated robbery.

Last week, the army court chaired by Lt.Gen.Andrew Gutti convicted Kiwanuka, Kayemba, Waliggo and Tweheyo and on Monday, the court passed on a death sentence to the four convicts.

“You are murderers who killed innocent people and you don’t deserve to be near people. The deceased were innocent and young people who were maliciously killed yet they had families to look after,” Lt. Gen. Gutti said.

The army court chairperson explained that the quartet participated in the robbery and murder at various stages noting that evidence produced which also included CCTV footage put them at the scene at the time the crime was committed.

https://youtu.be/tOKWv3-4qTA

Gutti added that the convicts deserved the punishment because their actions left the deceased’s families suffering without anyone to fend for them.

The prosecution side, led by Lt.Col. Raphael Mugisha had earlier asked court to give strict punishments to the convicts because their acts created fear among the public as well as putting security on tenterhooks and thus needed to tame them.

The court also sentenced Gerevazio Kankaka to 43 years imprisonment for not directly participating in the robbery and murder but drove the getaway motorcycle after the incident.

The army court also sentenced Mudashil Tumwesigye to 44 years imprisonment for his role that included disconnecting the CCTV cameras at the hardware but the same never came to pass as he took off when bullets were fired during the robbery.

Lt. Gen. Gutti, however, ordered that shs50 million found with the convicts, two motorcycles, 88 iron sheets and a vehicle, Toyota Premio UBA 502 E be returned to Moses Kalisa, the Muto hardware owner because they were proceeds of the crime committed by the convicts.

Last year, the same court sentenced two people including, Derrick Jumba and Matia Bukenya Kiiza to 40 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to participating in the attack, robbery and murder of Muto Hardware in Masaka on their own plea.

https://nilepost.co.ug/2018/10/23/army-court-imprisons-two-men-to-40-years-for-attacking-muto-hardware-in-masaka/